Day trips from Liechtenstein, one bus ride over the border

One of the joys of Liechtenstein’s tiny size is how close everything else is. Within an hour on the bus you’re in Austria or Switzerland, and your LIEmobil ticket gets you there without buying another. If you’ve a spare day, or the weather rules out the mountains, a trip over the border is one of the best things you can do. These are the ones I’d pick, with opening times and prices from their own websites.

Feldkirch, the easiest trip

Feldkirch in Austria is 45 minutes from Vaduz on direct bus 11, and your LIEmobil ticket is valid into the centre. The big draw is the Schattenburg, a castle you can actually visit, unlike Vaduz’s. Its museum fills 18 rooms and opens daily from April to October, 10:00 to 17:00, with shorter hours in winter, Tuesday to Sunday. Entry is €9. Until 27 February 2027 there’s a temporary exhibition marking 650 years of Feldkirch’s charter of freedoms, and on Sunday 11 October 2026 there’s a medieval open day with short tours, no booking needed. Note that it closes on 20 October. The journey itself is in Feldkirch to Vaduz.

Sargans and Werdenberg, two Swiss castles

Sargans is 23 minutes from Vaduz on bus 12E, and it’s the station for Zurich trains, so it fits neatly into the day you leave. Its castle houses the Sarganserland museum, open from 1 April to 31 October 2026, a Swiss restaurant with a menu written in dialect and, on 4 October, a special programme for Swiss Castles Day. More in Sargans to Vaduz.

Werdenberg Castle stands near Buchs, 18 minutes from Vaduz with a change in Schaan. Together with the Schlangenhaus historic house museum, it’s open from 10:00 to 17:00, Tuesday to Sunday, until 31 October 2026. Entry is CHF 14 and under-17s go free. To me it’s the most peaceful trip of the lot.

Is Heidi’s village worth it?

With children, yes. The Heididorf in Maienfeld, Switzerland, recreates the world of Johanna Spyri’s novel, with the Alpine hut, Heidi’s house and the village school, and it’s a museum where touching is encouraged. It opens from 13 March to 1 November 2026, daily 10:00 to 17:00, last entry 15:45, and costs CHF 14.90 for adults and CHF 6.90 for children aged 5 to 14. Trains and buses reach Maienfeld every half hour, and a circular trail of about 6.5 km and an hour and a half starts at the station. From May to October there’s also a bus up to the village at weekends. From Vaduz you’ll go via Sargans.

Three countries in a day, no car needed

If you fancy ticking off three countries in a day, one LIEmobil day pass will do it. Morning in Feldkirch at the Schattenburg, back to Vaduz for lunch and the Städtle, then an afternoon bus to Sargans for a look at the castle before your train. None of the journeys takes more than 45 minutes. I just wouldn’t try to see too much of each; the classic day within the country is in one day in Liechtenstein.

Which trip would I skip?

None of them is a waste of time, but if the days are short I’d drop St Gallen and keep everything within a bus ride. Autumn is a good moment to go. Most of the Swiss castle museums close at the end of October, the Heididorf on 1 November, and the Schattenburg drops to shorter winter hours from November, so if you’re here in late September or October you still catch all of them open. In deep winter, Feldkirch is the only one on this list I’d plan around.

St Gallen, if you have a car

Further afield, the abbey precinct of St Gallen is a World Heritage site. Liechtenstein’s tourist board reckons on about 45 minutes by car on the A13. For me that’s a full-day outing, best left to drivers who’ve already seen the essentials here.

Practicalities before you cross

Two warnings. First, your phone. Switzerland sits outside the EU and EEA roaming framework, so check what your UK operator charges there before crossing, and near the Rhine set your network manually. Details in phone and roaming in Liechtenstein. Second, money. Austria uses euros and Switzerland francs, like Liechtenstein. If you’re driving, note that you’ll need a vignette for Swiss or Austrian motorways. Everything else about the buses is in buses in Liechtenstein.